It is amazing to become 'Wallaby' - Leroy Houston

Leroy Houston expressed his delight after making his debut for the Australian team in the recently concluded Rugby Championship game against Argentina at Twickenham Stadium.

It was in 2005, when Houston was picked in the Australian squad by then coach Eddie Jones for the Europe tour but failed to appear in a single game. His only appearance for the green and gold team came for Australia A when they defeated the French Barbarians 42-12 in the same year.

After, he was overlooked in the national team selection, Houston went on to play for Bordeaux and Bath before returning back to Australia in 2016 to be part of the Queensland Reds.

However, the 29-year-old returned back to Bath for a four-month loan period and it proved decisive for the flanker as Michael Cheika named him on the bench for the Saturday's clash against Argentina where he made an appearance in the 69th minute replacing Lopeti Timani.

"It's an amazing feeling to become a Wallaby," said Houston, who will join Queensland Reds for the next Super Rugby season.

"I've aspired to this for a long time and honestly in my career I didn't think I'd get to this level.

"It's been a hard journey but I'm so happy to get the chance to run out with Quade Cooper and Michael Hooper, these guys are going to be legends of the game forever.

"When I left Australia to play club rugby in France that was the first time I ever questioned whether I was good enough to play professional rugby.

"To go from being in that frame of mind to running out at Twickenham to play Argentina for the Wallabies, that's why I've got such a big smile on my face.

"I was down in the dumps, and a lot of boys go through it, but look what came of it."

Houston's Bath team-mates Matt Banahan, Matt Garvey and Kane Palma-Newport went for the Twickenham clash in support of his former teammate. Houston, who was part of Bath for three years from 2013, expressed his gratitude to the Aviva Premiership club for playing a vital role in enhancing his career.

"It was awesome to see Matt Banahan waiting there when we arrived," said Houston.

"I asked those boys if they could come down and they jumped at the chance. It was not just Matt Banahan, it was Matt Garvey and Kane Palma-Newport too.

"I asked them if they could come down and see me and that was unbelievable.

"These boys are the reason I'm here. If I hadn't played for Bath, and played to my potential, with those guys around me, helping me, I wouldn't be here today.

"So I'm very thankful to them for that.

"I'll probably keep the cap on for a few days now. My old man's got a great set-up with my jerseys and things back home, so hopefully this will be framed at some point and go into that."